As you're probably aware, it was late last year that voice actor Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene Meltsner, passed away. We've since released two editorials to address Will Ryan's passing. Editorial 37: A Most Extraordinary Character is a tribute to Will's portrayal of Eugene over the years, and Editorial 38: The Last Episodes of Eugene Meltsner discusses some possible ways to move forward with the character. And now on the AIO Update YouTube channel we've uploaded a video featuring audio and video clips from Will Ryan interviews over the years. All the clips have been previously released and come from various episodes of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast. You can check out the video below.
Mandy Straussberg was a prominent Adventures in Odyssey character for over ten years. She was featured in episodes such as The Great Wishy Woz, The Present Long Ago, Life in the Third Person, and of course the Novacom Saga. Mandy often appeared alongside Liz Horton, her best friend. Aria Curzon-DePue, the actress who voiced Mandy, is in need of our prayers at this time. Aria recently shared some very sad news about her husband, who suddenly passed away in recent days. Please remember Aria and her family in your prayers during this difficult time. My previous editorial, titled A Most Extraordinary Character, was released last month as a tribute to the late Will Ryan, the voice actor behind Eugene Meltsner for nearly thirty-five years. I talked about my memories of Eugene over the years and what he has meant to us as fans. And now with this month's editorial, The Last Episodes of Eugene Meltsner, I look ahead to the future of the show and discuss our options for moving forward. What is going to happen to the character of Eugene now? I discuss a number of different possibilities and think through the implications. Check out Editorial 38. It's that time of year again. Christmas is upon us, a time to gather with family and friends, exchange gifts, play in the snow, have hot drinks, and reflect on the gift that God gave us through his only son, Jesus. Adventures in Odyssey has produced a lot of great Christmas episodes over the years, a number of which Focus on the Family has made available to listen to for free! That's why we've created this post. If you're looking for something festive to listen to over the Christmas season, you can browse the list of free episodes below. And have a Merry Christmas! Peace on Earth (Album 3) Whit finds himself overcommitted on Christmas Eve, and the Barclay family wakes up to a surprise on Christmas morning. A Time for Christmas (Album 19) Whit takes middle-schooler Courtney Vincent on an Imagination Station tour of Christmases past. It's a Pokenberry Christmas, Parts 1-2 (Album 31) Whit and Eugene travel to Pokenberry Falls to help George Barclay, who has lost faith that he should be a pastor … which leads to a bizarre series of events. A Lamb's Tale (Album 43) The Odyssey crew is involved in six interwoven stories about Christmas. It all begins when Tamika gives away her toy lamb for Christmas. There are also a number of free Adventures in Odyssey episodes that take place in winter. Though not strictly about Christmas, they're still fun to listen to at this time of year: The Barclay Family Ski Vacation (Album 7) The Barclays go skiing, Donna Barclay develops a crush on her instructor, and George comes to grips with his daughter growing up. New Years Eve Live! (Album 31) The gang from Whit's End hosts a wacky New Year’s Eve celebration – in front of a live audience! Snow Day (Album 36)
When school is canceled due to snow, Alex Jefferson accepts a job to deliver cookies to his grandmother. On the way, he must endure many trials and tribulations. It's with a heavy heart that I write this post. Adventures in Odyssey fans are still dealing with the recent loss of the beloved actor Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene Meltsner. I know I haven't posted on the AIO Update for some time, but this seemed like the right opportunity to return with an opinion piece to pay tribute to a wonderful actor and a wonderful character. In this editorial, A Most Extraordinary Character, I look back at all the times we've had with Eugene, the fun times and the serious ones. I talk about what makes Eugene so special, and what he's come to mean to us fans over the years. Check out Editorial 37. It’s a time of grieving and reflection for the whole Adventures in Odyssey community. It’s been four weeks since we heard the news that Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene, had passed away. As fans we feel for Will Ryan’s family and the AIO family of cast and crew who worked so closely with him for thirty-five years. We lost a giant in the voice acting industry and a pillar in the Odyssey community. We lost the voice of Eugene Meltsner, a character who we’ve grown to love over the years.
I don’t envy the position the AIO team is in right now as they grieve and discuss how to move forward. I know they would appreciate our prayers. And as we pray, let’s remember to give a prayer of thanks for all the joy Will Ryan brought us over the years through Eugene. That’s the purpose of this editorial. Let’s celebrate everything we’ve loved about Eugene, all the laughs, the borrowed colloquialisms, the ups and downs of his relationship with Katrina, and of course the ukulele tunes. Eugene Meltsner is without a doubt a genius. He says as much in his first episode and he’s right. By age 9 he was in high school and by age 13 he was starting college. He was probably doing calculus when he was still in diapers. Math and science are his thing, but so is English. You know you’re an AIO fan when you start using words and phrases you learned from Eugene. His precision of language is impeccable. Eugene is the kind of person who will interrupt you to correct your grammar and has the perfect vocabulary word for any situation, and even the odd Latin phrase. He’s also incredibly inventive. As a child he develops a mini-excavator to help his father in archaeological digs. He also rigs the refrigerator to electrocute people in order to help his parents lose weight. I’m sure Leonard and Thelma weren’t too happy about that. You’d think little Eugene would have learned his lesson, but that doesn’t stop him from rigging the cash register at Whit’s End with electricity in Suspicious Minds (Album 8)... The AIO Blog has released an interview with Adventures in Odyssey sound designer Jonathan Crowe. He talks about starting out in radio, coming to work at Focus on the Family, and which past shows he would like to go back to and improve. Jonathan also discusses some of the hardest sound effects he's had to create, putting together the water sounds in Swept Away, working in the recording studio, and more. Check out the interview below. Adventures in Odyssey's latest release, Album 67: More Than Meets the Eye, has just premiered on the radio and online. Its first episode, Rightly Dividing, can be heard now. In this story Pastor Knox becomes concerned about Camilla’s fiery prayer for her soccer team’s victory, and Declan consults Lou for advice on dealing with a bully at school. The rest of the shows in Album 67 will be airing over the next five weeks and it definitely looks like there are some surprises on the horizon. Remember, each episode only stays online for a week and then it's gone again, so be sure to check back at whitsend.org every Saturday for the latest release. Or you can head to the AIO Club, sign up for a membership, and have access to all the episodes in Album 67 today, along with the entire Adventures in Odyssey archive. On this edition of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast, we go behind-the-scenes to find out all about the latest musical episode. Actor/singer Gregory Jbara and Phil Lollar writer/director/composer talk about Adventures in Odyssey’s adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: “Icky and Kat and Balty and Bones” (Plus, Bob and Jesse share new podcast music!) Do you know which episode the original Adventures in Odyssey podcast closing music came from? If you let Bob and Jesse know then you may get a special shoutout on a future podcast. Listen to the podcast interview. Bob and Jesse, hosts of the Official Adventures in Podcast, are back with the Avery Awards, which celebrates the best AIO actors, writers, and more. And this time promises to be plenty of fun. Here's how they introduce it: "Welcome the new and improved, super hip, super relatable, ultra rad, lit, on fleek, Dab, EPIIIIIIIC Avery Awards! We’ve got mail! And it’s the results from your votes on the Avery Awards for Odyssey Album 65: Expect the Unexpected and Album 66: Trial by Fire!!! And this year, we’ve taken it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL! We’ve ditched the old style Avery Awards, and we’re doing this one like the kids do it!" Make sure to look out for the hosts of the Youtube channel Blimey Cow to make an appearance as well. You can watch the Avery Awards below. On the latest edition of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast hosts Bob and Jesse go behind-the-scenes of the new AIO Club episode The World of Whitonia. They interview Jamieson Price, the voice behind Professor Astan Lebernis. He discusses what it's like to play goofy characters vs. realistic ones, working with the Adventures in Odyssey team, matching his voice to animation, and the accent he uses in The World of Whitonia. He also talks about working with writer/director Phil Lollar, acting alongside the voice of Renee Carter, how he got started with acting, and more. Check out the podcast interview. |